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Developing and Maintaining Workplace MoraleNothing tears a team apart faster than low workplace morale. Peoples' attitudes are contagious, good attitudes spread, bad attitudes spread faster. As a leader, establishing, developing, and maintaining a team with a good attitude is an excellent goal.
But is it realistic?Here are a few solid strategies to establish and maintain a better team attitude: Do the research. It's important to examine what is causing the poor morale. Is their a sense of confusion? Is the goal clear? Are peoples' roles being stepped on? Are you meeting objectives? Is there a specific person or issue causing the heartburn? Write down what you find in your journal. Try to be as objective about the facts as possible. As you flesh out the details a larger diagram of the team dynamic will emerge. Communicate Your Findings. Nobody is comfortable when there's a white elephant in the room. If your team is suffering from low workplace morale, then obviously people are already unhappy. Address their concerns; acknowledge that you are aware of the problem and you're searching for a solution.
Address the Attitude Problem. . .But don't go in with your guns blazing. Try not to pass blame. Be clear, state the facts of what you see. State the fact that morale is important to the overall health of the team, and that you're looking for solutions to the problem.Observe Your Team's Reaction. Who gets defensive? Who tries to pass blame? Who attempts to align themselves with you? Who stays silent? Who gets loud? Who says they have a solution?
Create Alignment:Your team wants to succeed. But a team struggling with poor workplace morale is having a hard time figuring out how to succeed.As a leader you must devise a game plan (however simple) to capture peoples' attention and abilities, while minimizing their liabilities and the current poor attitude of the team. Develop simple action steps and milestones to create team alignment. Observe: who follows directions, who resists? The point is to find momentum with the people you have (however small) and get rid of the people who refuse to play nice. A little momentum now becomes a lot of momentum later. The trick is to get the people you have going in the same direction. Remember: how you communicate and act are constantly being observed. On a team struggling with low workplace morale, exhibiting a poor attitude yourself is the fastest way to lose your team. Obviously, this is often easier said than done. You must model the behaviors you want your team to exhibit. So remember act in a way that gets the best results possible, people are watching.
Look for the winners:In every group there are people who will stand out. They either produce more, or work harder, have better ideas, communicate well. . . Whatever it is, these people are your "A" players, they make up the core of your team even if you don't know it yet.These people will become the agents of change on the team struggling with low workplace morale. Make sure to establish quality relationships with these people, start with the most effective people first.
Hone Your Vision:As your team builds some momentum with small victories, you will begin to see how a bad attitude can transform itself into something else.Pride, confidence, and direction are all positive side effects of a winning team. When people are winning, they continue to expect to win. Now is not the time to rest on your laurels. Leverage winning attitudes by establishing, maintaining, and rewarding winning behaviors on your team. This is the only effective way to keep workplace morale high.
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